A machine shop is filled with machines for working a piece of metal into a finished product. Those machines include lathes, presses, mills, CNC machines, and the like. At many machines, the piece to be worked must be held stationary with respect to the machine, and generally, a vise is used to clamp the piece in place. Vises have been used for a long time to do so. Generally, the vise includes a pair of opposed jaws, at least one of which can be moved toward the other to clamp the piece into a stable position.
When working a piece of metal, a lubricant is often introduced to the work site to reduce heat and the risk of damage to the piece and the tool. For example, when operating a drill press to bore a hole through a piece, it may be advantageous to lubricate the work site or the drill bit with oil so that the hole is formed quickly, smoothly, and without damaging the piece or the bit. Lubricant is consumed by the machining operation but is also disbursed during work, so that it frequently covers the operator, the work piece, and the tool. Additionally, lubricant almost always drips and collects on the vise holding the piece, as the vise is usually positioned below the piece. While the piece usually may be easily cleaned once finished, the vise is more burdensome to clean. It is large, heavy, and can have many crevices, channels, threads, and other small spaces difficult to thoroughly clean. Consequently, the vise often is not cleaned, and gradually becomes dirtier and dirtier with accumulation of lubricant and metal shavings.
Some machine shops will have a vise at each machine, while others may have only one or two vises that are moved to each machine on an as-needed basis. Regardless, at some point, a vise must be moved, perhaps to better position the work piece, perhaps to switch with a larger or smaller vise, or perhaps to move to a new machine. A vise can be incredibly heavy however, and when a vise is covered in accumulated oil, it can be very slippery. Vises can be dropped, causing property damage and possibly bodily injury. Vises covered in oil thus pose a danger when being moved. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to clean these vises to make them safer to carry, because they must generally be moved or at least picked up to be cleaned, and the problem of slipperiness is still encountered. A safe, reliable way to handle and move a vise is needed.